Method of producing disk sound-records.



J. SANDERS. I

METHOD 0F PRODUCING DISK SOUND RECORDS. APPLICATION HLED JAN. 1l. |913.

l 206 034. l Patented-Nov. 28,1916. l 9 i 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

figg 5 80W UIMM."` l( 16 INVENTOR fr? /wmm ATTORNEY J. SANDERS. METHOD0F PRODUCING DISKSOUND RECORDS. APPLICATION FILED 1AN.11. |913.

I 1,206,084. Patented Nov. 28,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. Eg

UNrTED STATES JOSEPH SANDERS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA.

METHOD 0F PRODUCING DISK SOUND-RECORDS. L

Specification of Letters Patent'.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916,

Application led January 11, 1913. Serial No. 741,377.

To all whom z't may concern lBe it known that I, JOSEPH SANDERS, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Washington, in theDistrict of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Methods'of Producing Disk Sound-Records, whereof the following isA afull and complete description.

The object of this invention is to provide a non-frangible disk ortablet, capable of carrying upon one ,or both of its plane faces anundulatory record of sound.

Another object is to provide a method of producing a non-frangiblerecord tablet for the purpose mentioned, which will make the cost ofproduction of such4 tablet considerably less than that lat which presentforms of record tablets are produced.

Another object of this invention is to provide a record tabletcomprising a fibrous base and a 'coating of sound record materialcovering substantiallyT only that portion of said base which ,isdesigned to carry the record of sound.

Another object of this invention is to provide a non-frangible recordtablet, comprising a vthermo-plastic fibrous base, carrying upon aportion of one or both'of its plane faces a* coating or layer ofthermoplastic material, embodying in its surface a sub-` stantiallyindestructible undulatory record` of sound.

Another object is to provide a record disk or tablet comprising a basehaving its Ycentral portion compressed to form a recess for theidentification label, the surface of which label when applied isdepressed below the plane of the surrounding portion of said base, andconsequently below the plane of the outer face of the coating of recordmaterial covering said surrounding portion.

Another object is to provide a built-up sound record disk, comprising afibrous base partially or entirely covered by a layer of Ythermo-plastic record material, said disk when finished being markedlyresonant, and having no deadenin or dampening effect upon thereproduction of the sounds recordedin the face thereof.

In accordance' with the present invention, the sound record disk ortablet comprises as a base a thermo-plastic fibrous disk. By the termthermo-plastic fibrous disk, is mea-nt a tablet Vcontaining sufficientfiber to render the finished record disk non-frangible, together with asufficient quantity of a suitable binder, employed for the purpose ofunify- 1n the lfibrous structure, said binder being o a kind such as isplastic or pliable when heated, and solid and very hard when cold. Withthese elements in suitable proportions, and the application thereto' ofa predetermined amount of heat, the fibers comprising the structure arepermitted to fiow by the application of the pressure thereto, toreadjust themselves to conform to the desired shape, imparted theretoWhile between molds or matrices; after which the binder upon hardeningsets said fibrous structure permanently and substantially unyieldinglyin the position which conforms to said matrices.

The basic disk is thoroughly permeated or saturated with a cement sizingwhich imparts thereto avbending coefficient, substantially equal to thatof the surface coating which is later applied to one or both of thefaces thereof, said surface coating in turn comprising a suitablethermo-plastic material capable of carrying in its surface an impressionof undulatory sound record grooves. rlfhe sizing employed in said basicdisk is preferably of a resnous nature, such for instance as resin orManila gum, although other materials of the same general class may beused.

The surface coating, which is hereinafter termed record material, is ofsuch a character that when cold it is able to successfully exertedthereupon, said fiber in combination fwith a suitable resnous fillerproducing a structure which is thermo-plastic, while in applying therecord material to the basic dlsk it is preferable for reasonshereinafter brought out to distribute the same in an annular zoneconcentric with said disk, and leave a central portion of said disksubstantially free for the purpose of applying the usual identificationlabel thereto.

Figure 1 is a plan iview of a basic disk;.

Fig. 2 is a diametrical section of the disk Shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3I isa diametrical section of the disk similar to Fig. 2 and showing the samewhen positioned between gas burners; Fig. 4 is a diametrical section ofthe disk similar to Fi 2, and showing the same when positione between amodified form of heating means; Fig. 5 is a diametrical view of saiddisk and rollers during the application thereto of record material; Fig.6 is a sectional view showing the disk. with its coating of rolledrecord material when positioned between a pair of opposed matrices; Fig.7 is a sectional view of a completed double-'faced sound record disk; Y

and Fig. 8 isa similar sectional' view of a 4 single-faced sound-recorddisk.

In carrying out the present invention, a disk 4of suitable fibrousmaterial such as pulp-board, cardboard or the like is saturated withresin, Manila gum, or other suitable resinous sizing material, in anydesired manner, to form a basic disk 9, care being taken that said diskis thoroughly impregnated with the sizing, yet withoutpermitting asurplusage thereof to remain upon the surface. A disk, having been thustreated, is very hard and elastic when cold and somep what thicker thanthe finished sound record after passing through the complete process ashereinafter described. Furthermore, a sized disk when cold offers greatresistance to any unusual forces tending to distort it, and hencethe`finished record tablet is under all ordinary conditions of handling,practically indestructible, quite successfully resisting a tendency tobreak upon being dropped or upon the application thereto of pressureswhich would tend to distort the same. The basic disk 9 is at the outsetgenerally provided with a central aperture 10 for the purpose ofreceiving the mandrel or spindle 11, when its surfaces are being heated,and subsequentlifthe centering pin 12 in the mold, as wellato laterreceive the centering pin of th-.turntable of any common form of disksound reproducing machine.

This disk, as before stated, being hard and substantially unyieldingwhen cold, must be ysoftened throughout that portionV of the surfacethereof to which the powdered record material is to be applied, for thepurpose of maintaining the same unitarily in conjunction therewith, suchcoperation between said disk and record material being made possible bythe fact that when heated the surface of the former becomes tacky orvgummy. The softened surface of said disk then sticks to and retains athin layer of said finely divided record material, which," bemaking anunbroken coating or layer ofV powdered record material upon the annularheated portion of the surface of the disk, the thickness of said coatingbeing regulated,

generally speaking, by the intensity and duration of the heat appliedthereto, after which a surplus of the record material fails to adhere tothe disk and subsequently'falls off.

For the purpose of softening and render'- ing plastic a given annularportion of'the disk 9, 'and at the same time permitting the centralportion thereof to remainsubstantially cold and hard, thereA is providedsuitable means for applying heat thereto. This means may take anydesired form, such for instance as small jets 12 of llame, directed uponthe desired portion, and within the range of' which the disk is rotated,las shown in Fig. 3, or the disk as a whole may berot-atedconcentrically between and at a slight but uniform distance from, one ormore similar, substantially fiat, unbroken, yannular plates 13, ofsubstantially uniform thickness and of a metal having a high coeflicientof heat conductivity, s aid plates in turn receiving their heat fromjets of flame at the ports 14 in the annular pipes 15 in Fig. 4, or froman electric current, steam coil, or any other suitable source.

As a result of the close association of the disk 9 with the plates 13,the surface of that portionof said disk lying directly adjacent to orbetween the opposed surfaces of said plates, will become tacky andgummy, while the central portion of the disk, not Vbeing in closeproximity to a source of heat, will` remain comparatively cool and hard,though generally enough of the shellac, or other binder-containingrecord material 16 of the next step in the process, adheres thereto, toserve asa thin layer 17 of adhesive for the label 18, thus making itunnecessary to coat said central portion with shellac or similarmaterial in a separate operation. However, the amount 'of powderedmaterial adhering to the lcenter is so slight as to be negligible whenconsidering the 'increase in thickness of that portion of the disk. As anext step in the process after the disk 9 has been heated to a desireddegree, said disk is removed from between the jets 1 2 or plates'13, andwhile still heated, a layer 16 of suitable record material is applied tothe face thereof in any suitable manner, as by passing the disk withsaid material in a finely powdered form between carefully adf justedparallel rollers 19, as shown rather d iagrammatically i n Fig. 5. Therecord material generally employed comprises shellac, earthy material,such ,a s.,baryta, infusorial earth, or the like, and finely dividedfiber,

ted, however, if desired, and the solution of` ordinarily termed Hock,"and after the disk has been passed through the rollers 19, any surplusof said material falls off as hereinbefore described. After said diskand coating have been passed through said rollers, it will be found thata homogeneous coating of record material covers an annular region of thedisk from the circumference, substantially as far only as the'innerdiameter of that portion of the disk which was heated, but, as beforestated, a relatively small amount of said material will have adhered tothe central portion lof the disk, to act as an adhesive for the label.

In coating the basic disk with record material, it has been foundpreferable to apply the same in powdered form, in view'` of the factthat an undue accumulation of flock is thus readily prevented. If,however, the record material be applied to the basic disk as a solutionor liquid, care should be exercised to prevent an undue accumulation ofsaid flock. The iock may be omitrecord material may be applied to theblank in any suitable manner. In some cases it may be desirable tocement the record material in its powdery or finely divided form, to thesurface of the disk base by applying to said base a suitable form ofcement solution, but suicient time should be allowed to permit of theproper drying of the cement,

for unless the drying be thorough, difficulties may be experienced inthe subsequent operations and a decrease in the -normal life of afinished record may result. The invention is preferably carried out,however, by the use of an impregnated base, such as that describedabove, heated until its surface becomes sufficiently plastic, adhesive,or tacky, to cause a finely divided powdery record material to adherethereto in a suiiicient quantity as hereinbefore described.

In the production of homogeneous sound record disks, there isasui'licient flow of the record material to permit of the production ofa sunken or depressed central portion, but when a fibrous base isemployed there is no such pronounced ow of the material forming the baseas there'is in connection with the use' of homogeneous sound records.This; consequently makes it necessary or advisable to depress bycompression the center of said disk suficiently tol accommodate thelabel. It is desirable therefore to provide a greater pressure to thecentral portion of the disk to which the identificaion label is aixe'd,than that applied over the major or greater portion of the surface ofthe record. l

In accordance with the present invention, those portions of the basicdisk to which a label or labels are to be applied, are leftsubstantially free from the record material,

and therefore the degree of compression rebe otherwise necessarilyemployed, and this lessened pressure upon the surface of the centralportion of the disk is advantageous, in that the basic -disk receivingdirectly that pressure is not subjected to the danger which might arisefrom distortions and transverse strains, or which might otherwise beexperienced, if the said portions were covered with the record materialcoextensive with the surrounding portions. This is particularly true inthe case of double-faced' records, where the thickness of the disk isdecreased to a greater extent in the center, with respect to themarginal portions, than in the case of a single-faced reoord. Moreover,the saving in record material is no inconsiderable item when it isconsidered that sound record disks are produced by millions. The disk atthis step in the process is bounded by smooth surfaces, and may then' beplaced between any two desired opposed matrices 20, `as shown in Fig. 6,said matricesv preferably having smooth central raised portions 21,'which when compressed together t0 the fullest degree desired, will exerta `compression upon the opposed central portions of the basic disk 9,upon which the labels 18 have been placed, said labels 'correspondingtol the particular selections, the phonetic vibrations of which arerecorded upon the surrounding surfaces 22 of the adjacent matrices.Thus,

as the marginal surface 22 of each of the opposed matrices in the caseof a doublel dlsk sound record impresses its respective undulatorycharacteristic upon the correspondingly situated record materialA 16,Athe central surfaces 21 of the matrices will simultaneously depress thecentral portion 23 of the surface of the disk 9 sufficiently to of thethin'coating 17 of record material.

The matrices 21 are applied-to the disk 9, with its coating 16 in anysuitable manner, either at different times or simultaneously. One methodby which the operation may izs be performed is to place one matrix uponthe usual heated bed 25, as shown in Fig. 6, with the centering pin 12extending through the central bore 27. A label 18 identifying ever,eliminated by the adherence thereto A the particular matrix is thenplaced thereupon, a disk 9 coated in the manner before described is thenplaced upon the label and upon a heated matrix, with the pin 12 passingthrough the aperture 10, a second label 18 is laid upon said disk, and a.second heated matrix corresponding with said second label is placed ininverted position upon the pile, each element in turn being pierced bythe pin 12. The necessary pressure generally hydraulic, is then appliedto impress into therecord material the record of sound, to depress thecentral portion of the record disk, and to attach the label to saidcentral depressed portion. The compressed diskis then cooled in anysuitable manner. The finished record so made will retain the shape intowhich it has been so molded, andwill have the phonetic Vcharacteristicsabove referred to. The nished disk 'or record is shown in Fig. 7.

It has been found that by adjustingl the valves 30, or other suitablemeans, the source of heat can be easily regulated, so as to finelyadjust the amount of heat applied to the annular rings 13, While a diskis positioned therebetween, or directly to the basic disk by means of aflame. and by regulating` the length of time that said disk is under theheating influence, it is possible to predetermine substantially theamount or thicknessof the coatingl of record material,`

which will finally remain upon the annular marginal portion of saiddisk. In this connection it has been noted that, the basic disk takesupand retains-suiicient heat so that, whilel but a thin" layer of thepowdered record material initially adheres thereto, said initial amountis heated and softened by the heat conveyed thereto by said disk, and inturn heats and softens vadditional material, until substantially thepredetermined thickness of the coating is'reached, beyond which point asurplus of said record material fails to adhere toj said disk andsubsequently drops off. 'Q

lVhenit is desired t6 make a single-faced record, that is to say, atablet having a recordof sound waves upon only one face thereof,'a basicdisk 9, previously prepared as hereinbefore described, is heated uponone side thereof, only/slightly over the central portion but to a'greater degree throughout the annular marginal portion surrounding saidcentral portion.

This heating of the disk may -be accomplished if desired/by the/use ofthe apparatus hereinbefore described, and as shown somewhatschematically in two forms inr Figs. 3 and 4, respectively,.in either`of which .p

cases one of the valves 30,v or other suitable means may be closedagainst the passage of a suitablefluid therethrough, thus permittingonly the face ofv said diskv oposite Vp thereto to become heated. It shod be may be coated with stated ployeda s a heating means, a switch, orvariable resistance, may be substituted for the valves l30, to regulatethe degree of heat in the necessary resistance coils. After -thenecessary amount been applied to the basic disk, saidJ disk recordmaterial as hereinbefore described, and as shownv rather schematicallyin one forni in Fig. 5; In this case,

pressed means, against one face yonly of the disk,

the desired thickness of said record material fwhich adheres to thesuperheated tacky annular portion of said disk, depending upon theamount of heat previously applied thereto, while but a very slightamount of said material adheres to the central portion whereon the usuallabel is placed,-all surplus material falling on", as hereinbeforedescribed. f

In its present coated condition, and while still heated, or on beingre-heated, if the same has cooled in storage, or in transit, the diskmay have impressed upon its .coated surface the desired record of soundwaves ever, that when electricity is eml of heat has i however, thepowdered material is'.

by rollers 19, or otherl suitable v by placing the same with its heatedface uppermost directly upon the heated bed 25,

the heated pin 12 extending throughthe L aperture' 10 in said disk;placing a label face upward centrally thereupon and surrounding` thepingthen placing a matrix face downward upon and concentrically withsaid'disk and label; and then applying pressure to the back or upperside of said matrix.l After the characteristic irregularities of thematrix have `been impressed in the record material on the surface of thedisk, said disk may .beremoved from the l matrix in any suitable orapproved manner. The resultlng record tablet shown in Fig.

8, comprises a smooth or blank llower sur-` face, an` upper'face,'embodying in an annular marginal portion thereof an undulatory recordof sound waves, and a label firmly adhering to the central portion ofsaid latter face and adapted to identify `the particular vocal,instrumental, or other, se-

- lection which may correspond to the adjacent impressed'record ofsound.

It'will be noted that one of the principal advantages of the process offorming'sound record "disks, as'hereinbefore described, lies in the factthat, instead of a lump of thermo- "plastic material being compressedbetween a pair of heated matrices, or between a matrix and'- a heatedtable thus causing said material to spread out under th'l action of heatand reure'toward the peripheral portions of the matrix, the blank inthis invention is already of substantially the proper diameter beforetheapplication of ressure thereto.- Consequently, said-blank is notvsubstantially altered in shape, except 7' the heated matrices and ythat under the great pressure employed, it may be somewhat condensed ina direction transverse to its plane, so that the finished record diskmay be thinner than the original blank, although substantially ofthesame size diametrically. In this latter case theinished record diskor tablet is light in weight, very strong, and otherwise equal orpossibly superior in acoustic properties to a tablet of solid orhomogeneous material,

while, substantially all transverse strains;

terial or heat it prior to the application of the same to the surface ofthe tablet. If the tablet be heated sufficiently, the heat retained inthe tablet may be suficient to heat the powdered material appliedthereto, and to cause the same to adhere to said tablet uniformlythroughout thatportion of the surface so heated. The body forming thebase of the tablet should have sufficient stiffness or rigidity toretain its form even when heated sufliciently to be molded or receivethe impression of the matrix.

Although a preferred embodiment of this l invention in the art of disksound records and the method of producing the same has' been described,it is obvious that various changes might be made in the construction andprocess employed, without departing from the spirit of the invention orthe scope of the appended claims. i

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The process of producing a sound record tablet, which consists inproviding a thermoplastic fibrous basic disk, heating an annularmarginal portiond only of said disk corresponding approximately to thearea exterior to and surrounding the label receiving central portion ofthe disk to a degree to cause applied record material to becomeadherentthereto, covering the heated area with record material and impressing asound record matrix into the surface of said material.

Y 2. The process of producing a sound record tablet, which consists inproviding a thermoplastic basic disk, softening the surface of saiddisk, covering as portion of said "surface with thermoplastic recordmaterial with'the portion so covered localized to an annular bandsurrounding and exterior to the label receiving area of said surface,and impressing amatrix-upon the surface of said record material.

. 3. The process of producing a sound record tablet, which consists in'providing a thermoplastic fibrous basic disk, heating the disk to atemperature rendering theI surface adhesive with such heat vso localizedas to confine it to an annular zone exterior tothe label receiving areaand extending therefrom to the vouter edge of the disk', covering thesaid heated' surface with finelyV divided thermoplastic record material,and impressing a matrix upon the surface of said material.

4. vThe process of producing 4a sound rece` ord tablet, which consistsin' providing a basic disk of fibrous material rendered thermoplastic byincorporation therewith of a material capable of being softened andrendered adhesive by heat, heating a circuming a matrix applied.

scribed area, thereof, extending substantially from the outer edge ofthedisk to the outer edge of the label receiving area of said disk to atemperature to render the surface adhesive, applying powdered recordreceiving Amaterial to the disk for adherence to the circumscribedheatedarea thereof, and impressinto sound record material so 5. rlfhe processof-producing a sound record tablet, which consists in providing athermo-plasticl basic disk, softening an annular marginal portion of thesurface of said disk, covering said portion with finely dividedthermo-plastic record material, and simultaneously subjecting saidmaterial and said disk to heat and pressure, impressing a matrix uponthe surface of said material, and forcing the surface of the centralportion of said disk out of the plane of the adjacent marginal portion.

6. The process of producing a sound record tablet, which consists inproviding a thermo-plastic basic disk, softening an annularmarginalportionof the surface of said disk, covering said portion with finelyVdivided thermo-plastic record material, and Simultaneously subjectingsaid material and said disk to the impress offa heated matrix to forcethe surface of the central portion of said disk out of the plane oftheadjacent marginal portion, and aflix a label to said central portion.

7. The process of producing a sound record tablet, which consist inproviding athermo-plastic basic disk, softening an annular marginalportion of the surface of said disk, covering said portion withthermoplastic record material, and simultaneously subjecting saidmaterial and said disk to heat and pressure, impressing a vmatrix uponthe surface of said material, and depressing the surface of thecentraldisk out of the plane of sai marginal 4portion. l

8. The process of producing a sound record tablet which consists' inproviding a Vthermo-plastic basic disk, softening an an-` nular marginalportion of each of the opposed surfaces of said disk, covering saidortion of said portions with thermo-plastic record material, andsimultaneously subjecting said material and said disk to heat andpressure, impressing a matrix upon each of the opposed surfaces of saidmaterial, and compressing the central portion of said disk to remove theoppositely disposed surfaces thereof out of the planes of therespectively adjacent marginal portions of said disk.

9. The process of producing a sound record tablet which consists, inproviding a base with a coating of finely divided thermoplastic recordmaterial, and impressing a matrix into the surface of said materialwhile the latter is softened solely by heat supplied by the heatedmatrix. i 10. The method of making a sound record tablet, which consistsin directly heatingf an annular portion of a fibrous base provided witha resinous binder until said heated portion is tacky, said annularportion being exterior to the label receiving area of the tablet andthen bringing a finely divided record material into intimate contactwith said heated surface.

11. The method of making a sound record tablet, which consists lindirectly heating an annular portion of a fibrous base provided With abinder which softens under the influence of heat, until said heatedportion is tacky, said annular portion being exterior to the labelreceiving area. of the tablet and then bringing finely divided recordmaterial into contact with said heated surface, whereby said finelydivided material adheres to said heated portion as a layer of finelydivided record material.

12. The method of making va sound record tablet, which consists inheating an annular portion of a fibrous base provided with a binderwhich softens under the influenceV of heat until said heated portion istacky and/ then rolling finely divided record material ifnto intimatecontact with said heated surace.

13. The process of producing a Sound record tablet, which consists inproviding a hase that isthermo-plastic throughout, heating said base,and then discontinuing the heating vand applying' a powdered material.to said base, while the-latter is still hot said powdered materialadhering to said base by reason of the heat stored'in said base.v

14. The method of making a sound record tablet, which consists inheating an annular portion of a fibrous base provided with a binderwhich softens under the influence of heat, to a greater degree than theinner por-` tion of said disk withinsaid annular portion is heated torender said annular portion more tacky than said inner portion, bringinga powdered record material into contact with the entire surface of saidtablet to form an impressible'layer of record material on the saidannular portion, and a relatively thin layer of adhesive material onsaidinner portion, and simultaneously impressing the sound record matrixinto said annular layer of record material and pressing a label againstand securing the same to said inner portion.

15. The method of making a sound record tablet, which consists inheating an annular portion vof a fibrous base, provided with a binderwhich softens under the influence of heat, until said heated portion istacky, simultaneously heating the inner portion of said tablet withinsaid annular portion vto a heated, and bringing ya powdered recordmaterial into contact with the entire surface of said record, whereby animpressible layer of record material adheres .to 'said annular portionto take an impression of a sound record matrix, and a'relatively smallamount of said record material adheres to said inner portion to formadhesive for a label.

16. The process of forming a sound record miV ,lesser degree ythan saidannular portion is matrix, which consists in heating a fibrous basewhich is compressible under the in'- iuence of heat and pressure,applying to an annular portion of said base a coating of powdered recordmaterial, and to the central kportion of said disk a layer of adhesivematerial, placing on said central portion a label, and simultaneously.impressing a sound lrecord matrix into said coated annular portion, andcompressing said central'portion to a greater degree than said annularportion of said tablet, to secure a label to the cen tral portion ofsaid tablet, and to depress said labelbelow the plane ofthe surface of.'

the finished record. ,A

17. The method of making a sound .recor tablet, which consists inheating a 4fibrous base provided witha binder which softens ing apowdered record material into contact under the influence of heat, untilsaid heatedy -portion is tacky, then removing the heated base from thesource of heat, and then bringwith said surface while hot enouglr tocause the record material to adhere. l

18. The process of producing tablets for ythe reception of sound record,impressions from matrices thereof which consists in providing athermo-plastic fibrous base', softening the surface of saidbasethroughout an annular area extending fromthe margin of the base towardbut stopping short ofthe central llabel receiving portion-thereof, then`applying powdered sound record material to the softened surface anduniting the 'powdered material to the basic member by pressure. y

19. The method of producing double faced sound record tablets whichconsists in providing a thermo-plastic fibrous base of a slzesubstantially that of the finished tablet, ap-

plying to both faces thereof a sound record receiving materialthroughout an annular area substantially of the radial extent of theface of the tablet outside of the label receiving portion and leavingthe latter portion substantially free from surfacing material, and thenimpressing sound record matrices simultaneously against opposite facesof the tablet and at the same time compressing the lf) label receivingportion of the tablet below the planes of the record groove receivingportions of the tablet.

In Witness whereof, I have'hereunto set my hand this ninth day ofJanuary, A. D., 1913.

JOSEPH SANDERS.

Witnesses ALs'roN B. MoUL'roN, ALEXANDER PARK.

